This Is TASTE

Samer Saleh and Diane Aboushi Saleh are the married farmers behind Halal Pastures, a 100% organic and halal farm in Rock Tavern, New York. They first started growing food for their family on half an acre of land without any previous farming experience in 2015. Today they’re one of the busiest stands at the Union Square Greenmarket, with specialty produce that lures in chefs from top restaurants and home cooks alike. In this episode, Samer and Diane share how they’ve grown the farm and what they’re looking forward to as the bountiful spring and summer season unfolds. 

And it’s the return of Three Things. Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting in the food world, including visits to Dean’s, Kabawa, and Bar Ferdinando in New York, Caity Weaver writing colorfully about the best free bread in America, Zab’s x Taco Bell have collaborated on a nationwide menu item (wow), and the results of a competitive chocolate chip cookie competition.

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Kevin Boehm cofounded the Boka Restaurant Group, built some of Chicago’s most celebrated restaurants—Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, Swift & Sons—earned a James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, and appeared as himself on The Bear. He also slept in his car, battled depression and alcoholism, and spent three decades running from a secret he learned at 18 years old: the man sitting across from him at a Springfield diner wasn’t his biological father. All of that is in his enthralling memoir, The Bottomless Cup: A Memoir of Secrets, Restaurants, and Forgiveness. In this episode, we talk about helping build iconic Chicago restaurants and what it took to sit down and write the story of his life. 

Also on the show, we have a great conversation with the Washington, DC, chef Fabio Trabocchi. We talk about cooking around the world and his influence on Italian food in America.

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Amanda Perdomo is a pastry chef raised in Louisiana and based in New York. She’s spent over a decade working in some of the city’s best restaurants and as a freelance baker, and a few months ago, she launched a pop-up showcasing Louisiana cooking: Amanda’s Good Morning Cafe. The weekday breakfast and lunch pop-up inside the restaurant Strange Delight has been a runaway hit, with homemade po’ boys, deep- fried cinnamon buns, and “fancy desserts.” Today on the show, we go deep on Louisiana cooking, the stakes of running a pop-up, and what’s next.

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Chef Beejhy Barhany has a remarkable story to tell. Born in Ethiopia's Tigray region, she fled with her family at age four, crossing Sudan on foot and eventually landing in Israel, then in Harlem, where she opened Tsion Cafe in the former home of Jimmy’s Chicken Shack. Now she’s written Gursha, the first Ethiopian Jewish cookbook from a major American publisher. We talk about Beta Israel cuisine, the unfortunate closing and hopeful reimagining of Tsion Cafe, and building a community through food while fighting to stop anti-Semitism.

And it’s the return of Three Things. Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting in the food world, including Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais, fun visits to Lafayette Tavern and Dinamo in Richmond, Virginia. Also: A new weekend staple is Sal & Cookie’s Ultra Fine Diner in Brooklyn, a favorite Caesar dressing, and we love avocados and Primavera Avocados will send you the best ones we’ve ever tasted.

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Sheldon Simeon is the chef and owner of Tin Roof and Tiffany’s Restaurant and Bar in Hawaii. Born and raised in Hilo, he’s been dedicated to showcasing Hawaiian culinary heritage throughout his career, including in two seasons of Top Chef and two cookbooks: Cook Real Hawai’i and his new book, Ohana Style. It was so fun having Sheldon in the studio to talk about how his family inspired this new book, and his evolution as a chef.

Also on the show we have a great conversation with Saeng Douangdara, author of the new cookbook The Lao Kitchen. 

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